HISTORY: Hancock Co., IA From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875 This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Pat April 2003 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************* ________________________________________________________ NOTE: For more information on Hancock County, Iowa Please visit the Hancock County, IAGenWeb page at http://iagenweb.org/hancock/ ________________________________________________________ HANCOCK COUNTY. Hancock County is in the second tier from the northern line of the state, and about midway between the east and west boundaries. It contains 576 square miles, equal to 368,640 acres. It is watered by many small streams, the largest being Lime Creek, which crosses the northeast corner. Several tributaries of the Iowa River rise in the county. There are also several small lakes-the largest being Eagle Lake, near the center of the county. These lakes abound in fish of several kinds. The surface of the county is generally undulating, and nearly all adapted to cultivation, though a small portion is somewhat broken. An eminence in the northeast corner, partly in Winnebago County, called "Pilot Mound," is the highest point of land in this part of the state. From the summit of this elevation the eye may take in the greater portion of the four Counties of Hancock, Winnebago, Worth, and Cerro Gordo, with their prairies, groves, lakes, streams, farms, and villages. The northeast part of the county has a good supply of timber skirting "Pilot Mound," and the borders of Lime Creek. Some fine groves are also found on the Iowa River, in the southeast part, and on the borders of several of the lakes. The county also contains about four thousand acres of peat deposits, a fuel resource that may be resorted to if necessary. The deposits are from four to ten feet in depth, and are principally in the central and western portion of the county. There are no exposures of stratified rocks. The only stone to be obtained are the drift boulders, which are used for foundations of buildings. Good brick are made in various places. The soil is generally a rich dark loam, adapted to the various cereals, grasses, and root crops. The county is well suited for stock raising and the dairy. HISTORICAL. The first white settlement in Hancock County was at Upper Grove, on the Iowa River, by Anson Avery, September 9, 1854. He now resides near where he first located. George Nelson settled in October of the same year. These were the only families who spent the Winter of 1854-'55 in the county. In the Summer of 1855, Orick and Reuben Church, Thomas Magill, Sr., and Malcolm Magill, and Benoni Haskins joined the settlement. Among the early settlers in the vicinity were; William Gilpin and Charles Church, who still reside in the county. The next settlement was started at Ellington, on Lime Creek, the pioneers were John Maben and Jacob Ward, and the date of their location, September 27, 1855. In December of the same year, Barnard and Andrew Balsinger, and Joseph and Lewis Barth, settled in the same vicinity. Francis and Richard Colburn, J. and H. Rice, O. R. and J. J. Wright, and others came in 1856. The settlements at Upper Grove and Ellington embraced nearly all the inhabitants of the county up to 1865, when a settlement was commenced at Crystal Lake, by Edwin Trumbull and Myron Booth. The first death which occurred was that of Mrs. Richard Coleman, in May, 1857. The next was that of C. R. Wright, in September, 1859. He was the first county surveyor, and held the office up to the time of his death. ORGANIZATION. The county was organized in 1857-8, the following being the first county officers who were chosen at an election held June 28, 1858, per order of Judge Clark of Winnebago county; M. P. Rosecrans, Judge; George Louppee, Clerk; Reuben Church, Treasurer and Recorder; Benoni Haskins, Sheriff; Charles R. Wright, Surveyor; G. R. Mabin, Superintendent; and James C. Boner, Drainage Commissioner. COUNTY SEAT. Before the location of the county seat at Concord the public business was transacted at Ellington, Upper Grove, or wherever the county officials happened to reside. On the 4th of November, 1865, John I. Popejoy and James Goodwin, commissioners appointed for the purpose, made selection of a location for the county seat. They selected the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 31, township 96, range 23. The land was donated to the county by Thomas Seymour, of the state of New York. In May, 1867, the land was surveyed into town lots, and the place named Concord. The next year a good brick court house was erected on the public square set apart for that purpose, at a cost of $10,000. The first newspaper issued in the county was the Hancock Sentinel, commenced in 1860, by D. E. Coon at Ellington. It was continued by him up to 1863. CONCORD. – This is the county seat, and is located in the eastern part of the county on the headwaters of Iowa River. It is on a gently rolling prairie, surrounded by a fertile farming and grazing country. GARNER. – This is the chief railroad town in the county, and is immediately north of Concord. It is a trading and shipping point for a large extent of country, and is fast growing into importance. It was platted July 30, 1870, by John Mabin. It contains several stores and mechanic ships, two hotels, one public school building, and has one weekly paper, the Signal, which was established in April, 1871; it is now under the editorial management of W. C. Hayward. Garner is about one mile north of the county seat, Concord, and is the point where the commercial interests of the county center. It has, with its neighboring town, Concord, an enterprising, intelligent and moral population, leading traits of the citizens generally of Hancock County. UPPER GROVE. – This is the name of a post office on Iowa River in the southeast part of the county. The village laid out at this point was called Amsterdam. In 1861, a newspaper called the Independent, was published here a few months by Brainard & Noyes. BRITT. – This is a station and post office in the western part of the county, on the line of the Iowa division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. ELLINGTON. – This is a post office in the Lime Creek Settlement in the northeast part of the county. It is in the midst of a thriving farming community. CRYSTAL LAKE. – This is a post office in the northwest part of the county. There is now a thriving settlement of farmers here around the borders of the beautiful little lake for which the post office is named.